How do you get into the holiday spirit if your children are too young to stay up late for the night time lights displays, or to sit through a full-length performance of The Nutcracker? You get your Christmas party on during the day! Here are our family’s fav daytime activities during the holidays.
The Water-skiing Santa
Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, 2011, 1 p.m. FREE. This crazy fun event has a water-skiing Santa, flying elves, the Jet-skiing Grinch, and Frosty the Snowman performing on the Potomac River. Best view of Santa and crew is from National Harbor. No matter the weather, this event is on!
Visit Santa at the Mall
Our-Kids has a comprehensive list of all the shopping spots where Santa is chilling in a comfy chair awaiting kid visitors and photographs. My personal endorsements for Santa meetings (as someone who once took her kids to City Place Mall in Silver Spring on Christmas Eve where an 18-year-old boy was playing Santa??) are:
College Park Aviation Museum
One of the best miniature train displays is at the Aviation Museum, where the display is historically accurate and trains, villages, tunnels and depots spark the imagination while bringing history to life. The display is on until the 23nd, but the museum is open every day except Christmas and New Year’s Day. Also, on Thursday at 10:30am experience the Peter Pan Club for preschoolers and on Friday from 2-4pm kids age five and up can be a part of the hands-on fun for Afternoon Aviators.
Christmas at Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon is decking the halls for a special daytime program November 25 – January 6. Holiday visitors will enjoy themed decorations (including 12 Christmas trees), a gingerbread replica of the Mansion created by former White House pastry chef Roland Mesnier, chocolate making demonstrations, and a rare opportunity to tour the third floor of the Mansion. In 1787, George Washington paid 18 shillings to bring a camel to Mount Vernon for his guests’ enjoyment. During Christmas at Mount Vernon, visitors can meet Aladdin the camel. Christmas at Mount Vernon is included in general admission: $15 for adults, $7 for youth (6-11), and free for children five and younger. Mount Vernon is open every day of the year.
Seasons Greenings at the United States Botanic Garden
See the outdoor train garden, enter the Conservatory and enjoy a colorful display of poinsettias and other winter-blooming tropical plants, and the National Mall in miniature, a replica created with natural plant materials. 100 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, DC at the foot of the U.S. Capitol. Regular hours 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Open until 8 p.m. with live music on Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout December.
Bowling
One snowy Christmas break we started the family tradition of hitting the bowling alley when the kids were off school, and it stuck. Highly recommend bowling to the holiday tunes for daytime fun.
Just as two of you readers will win myTouch smartphones today on A Parent in Silver Spring, five bloggers won at the T-Mobile blogging event! Pictured L-R: Maria of Mummys Busy World, Tonia of The Chatty Momma, Thien-Kim of I’m Not the Nanny, Amy of Teach Mama and Leticia of Tech Savvy Mama.
Please tell me that YOU too are in the midst of mad holiday shopping.
If you were one of those awesome types who had this all done last month, the cards addressed, the names drawn in your family gift exchange, the packages wrapped and sent and perfectly selected for each loved one’s personality and needs…well, I salute you. (And I will try not to hate.)
But if you are anything like me and the mad mad mad mad crazy year I am having, RIGHT NOW is when I am finally getting my Christmas and Hanukkah gift act together. This morning was spent selecting items for family members and busting out the credit card for lots of online shopping.
Smart phones and tablets are two gifts which are especially needed by loved ones — much more necessary and coveted and up for daily use than another cashmere sweater — but those seem to be the hardest to purchase for another. Seriously, what will make someone happier than a brand new fabulous phone? Or a sweet Samsung Galaxy Tab that your gift recipient can begin surfing the web with right on Christmas morning?
Thankfully, T-Mobile has made the process of selecting and purchasing personal technology devices like smartphones such as the myTouch and the myTouchQ and tablets for our spouses, parents and kids easy and affordable!
I was excited to connect with T-Mobile, not only for the giveaway of the myTouch phones here on A Parent in Silver Spring, but also at a special blogging expert holiday shopping event. At the event, local bloggers and I learned from T-Mobile the following useful tips for selecting a smartphone or tablet as a gift (two items that I know my own mom, on her old flip phone and ancient desktop computer, can really use!)
The fabulous #TMobileHolidays #DC blogger event at the Tysons Corner T-Mobile store.
- It *IS* possible to purchase a smartphone for someone who will pay for service on their own account. You simply purchase the device at the no-annual contract price and pair it with a Monthly4G prepaid service so the recipient can start using the phone right away and decide whether or not they want to sign up for a contract term later. T-Mobile offers a variety of Monthy4G no annual contract and Pay by the Day plans.
- You can purchase a smartphone and service for the recipient on your existing account just by adding a line or upgrading a line. T-Mobile offers a Value family plan with unlimited talk, unlimited text and unlimited data with 2 GB of high-speed data for only $49.99 per line for two lines.
- You can give a smartphone as a gift to someone on your family plan as an upgrade and activate service after the phone has been unwrapped to maintain the surprise!
- Your gift recipient can return and exchange their technology gift. Upon activation of a new account, T-Mobile contract/upgrade customers have a 14-day trial period (30 days in California) during which they can cancel service without paying an early termination fee. For phones purchased from T-Mobile at full price without a contract or service, customers may return the device within 30 days. In both contract and non-contract scenarios, the following restocking fees apply: $25 for phone-first devices and laptop sticks, $50 for smartphones and $75 for tablets and netbooks.
I hope these tips are helpful to those of you, who like me, are frantically shopping for our people from our computers right now.
And I hope these two randomly-selected myTouch winners, drawn from all of the comments, Tweets, Facebook Likes and Shares on last week’s post, are filled with holiday spirit at their good luck:
- Lolli of Better in Bulk won the myTouch with her comment regarding plans and gifts!
- Cristie Ritz-King of The Right Hand Mom won the myTouchQ with her Tweet entry!
Thank you everyone who entered! I hope you enjoy the holiday gift giveaways and may you all have very successful (and easy) gift procurements in the next crazy weeks.
Fabulous blogs in attendance at the #TMobileHolidays #DC event and GREAT reads!
I’m Not the Nanny
C.Mom
Just Be Enough
A Little Nosh
Caffeine and a Prayer
Tech Savvy Mama
Teach Mama
Dial M for Minky
Mummys Busy World
A Spiced Life
All Things Nanny
Real Housewives of NOVA
The Chatty Momma
703 Mommy and Me
Mommyhood’s Diary
Prince William County Moms
The Coffee Kings
Disclosure: I am compensated by T-Mobile for my participation in this campaign. Facebook is in no way affiliated with this promotion.
For our family, heading to National Harbor to check out ICE! and all of the Christmas on the Potomac features at Gaylord National Harbor has become a holiday season tradition. And we loved this year’s version of the ice sculpture wonderland, ICE! Dream Works’ Merry Madagascar.
Yes, King “I like to move it, move it” Julien and friends pictured above are crafted completely from blocks of ice.
Our Freeze and Fun Day Pass included bundling up in the warm blue coats the ICE! attraction loans you and walking through ICE! with its Merry Madagascar theme. Of course, we had to try all of the FIVE indoor ice slides!
We also enjoyed a new feature this year, the “Character Passport” Meet & Greet in which our children were excited to meet (and hug) a slew of Dreamworks characters in the atrium of the Gaylord National Harbor Resort. Shrek, Puss in Boots, Po from Kung Fun Panda and Gloria from the Madagascar movies were all waiting in a special Dream Works village created just for kids.
Also available for families is ice skating on an indoor rink and a mini train ride within the ICE! tent, a Puss in Boots Quest for the Magic Beans Scavenger Hunt in the Gaylord, and gingerbread house decorating with Gingy from the Shrek movies. You can also reserve tickets for Brunch With Santa on Saturdays and Sundays until Christmas Eve.
Worth the drive alone is the (free) viewing of a 60-foot glass Tree of Light in the atrium with indoor nightly snowfalls nightly and 2 million twinkling lights.
A photo of Alice and I from a cool free-e-mail-a-pic-of-yourself machine at ICE!
Disclosure: My family and I were given Freeze and Fun Day Passes for review from Gaylord National Harbor as part of a Momz Share holiday party. All opinions expressed are my own.
The Still Point in Takoma Park Offers Facials With the Latest Green Technology, and Immediate Results
I want to be as healthy as possible and use organic products on my skin whenever I can.
I also want to look as pretty and young as I can non-surgically, and I look wistfully at all the high-tech skin treatments in the beauty magazines and dream of magical “zappings” that will make my face look like it did 10 years ago.
I thought that when it came to facial treatments, that you had to choose one or the other. You either go organic and holistic, which is good for you but won’t “zap” all the old, sagging, aging guck, or you succumb to a high-tech dermatologist up-sell that costs a fortune and works, or costs a fortune and makes you look weird.
Thankfully, I was wrong.
I had an organic facial AND microdermabrasion Sol Facial at The Still Point in Takoma Park. And now my face looks awesome! It is smoother, less fine-lined and freckled, more glowing and I have had a decrease in blocked pores. From the moment I left The Still Point until now, three weeks later, my facial skin has looked better than ever.
The Still Point’s holistic skin treatments incorporate an exclusive assortment of organic and natural skin care products to focus on what your skin needs to become healthy and beautiful. We offer 3 levels of facial treatments: graduating from the mildest, most soothing experience to the highest level of intensity to give long-lasting and dynamic results. Please let our experienced estheticians know if you have any concerns so that they can guide you towards the custom service that best suit your needs.
I have never before had immediate results from a facial.
I have had lots of facials in my lifetime, usually at Aveda and at some other independent salons or spas. My experience previously was that it was fun to take time out and be pampered, drink tea and cucumber water, but then the estheticians spent a lot of time on the “extraction” (aka professional blackhead mining and pimple picking.) And then there was the end of facial trying to get me to sign up for an expensive series of treatments and products. That part always made me panicky. Of course I want to look better, but as I am signing the receipt for a $100+ facial is not the time to tell me that unless I buy a small jar of $80 cream I will be a sun-damaged, zit-infested mess.
This time The Still Point esthetician Angela Spicer (pictured with me, above) soothingly assessed my skin, created a womb-like experience with massage and comfort, and made me completely relaxed as she applied completely organic, food-grade products by The Body Deli to my skin. There was no extraction. Then she used sonic microdermabrasion resurfacing to refine the texture of my skin, smooth fine lines, lighten age spots and acne scars. This was the Sol Facial, The Still Point’s “ultimate anti-aging skin and most intense, results-driven facial.”
The Sol Facial and Angela unearthed my baby skin, especially around my nose, upper cheeks and eyes. It is visibly smoother and my pores look smaller. I look younger. Now, I’m 36, not exactly geriatric. But this was the perfect treatment for me, as I have been lately seeing some big changes on my face as sun damage is catching up with me.
After discussing the facial products I currently use, Angela did recommend a new face wash for me…a HUGE bottle of Sage and Grapefruit cleanser by The Body Deli that only cost $28 and will last a long while, and it smells so fabulous, containing all natural ingredients including kale juice, tea tree oil, dandelion and importantly, 2% salicylic acid to control breakouts. I also picked up an affordable anti-oxidant-packed Osea Sea Minerals Toner for just $15. Now, those are the kind of product recommendations that will not make a girl panicky!
Then Angela, also an accomplished makeup artist, gave me a quickie 7 minute eco-makeup application, using all eco-makeup products offered at The Still Point. I looked naturally great. If I ever have a big event to attend, I will definitely be contacting Angela to give me a glamourous, eco-savvy look that I know will stay put without a bunch of bad chemicals and not result in a big breakout the next day.
The Still Point and Angela also provide professional eyebrow styling for just $25, and I will be taking my nail-salon-lopsided-wax-now-super-grown-out visage to her STAT.
Additionally, if you are following my new passionate love affair with acupuncture (My First Acupuncture Session Changed My Life), I have since had the Full Body Acupuncture treatment/new client intake session with the incredible Justine Short. My experience was phenomenal. And my results were even more dramatic this time. I have had lasting relaxation and peace, less anxiety, less urges to stress eat, and a dramatic desire to make healthier eating choices…this all in the midst of a VERY packed, anxiety-inducing week of work and baby and volunteer commitments and husband out of town. And after an affordable deductible is met, my health insurance will be reimbursing me for 80% of my treatment. Check with your own plan today!
Disclosure: The Still Point provided me with a complimentary Sol Facial, valued at $145, and a quickie eco-makeup application (thanks Angela!) for journalistic review for this website. However, I would have happily purchased these services and will be returning soon on my own dime for continued treatment. All products were purchased by me. After the initial gifted review Intro to Acupuncture, all acupuncture treatments I receive at The Still Point are purchased by me.
The Still Point Locations
The Still Point Takoma Park
1 Columbia Ave
Takoma Park, MD 20912
301 920 0801, and you can book appointments online
The original, flagship location in the heart of Takoma Park, MD (15 minutes from downtown DC).
Services
LIKE on The Still Point Takoma Park on Facebook
The Still Point Clarksville (Howard County near the Montgomery Count border)
12451 Clarksville Pike (Route 108)
Clarksville, MD
410.531.3245, and you can book appointments online
The newest and largest location. Located in the heart of Howard County, half-way between DC and Baltimore, we are conveniently located off of Route 32 on Clarksville Pike (Route 108).
Services
LIKE The Still Point Clarksville on Facebook for special offers and info!
The Still Point Yoga
13380 Clarksville Pike Highland, MD 20777
in Highland Crossing at route 108 and 216; above Twist and Turn Tavern
301.854.1013
Group Class Schedule
The latest expansion to Highland, MD, just two miles west on Route 108 from our Clarksville Spa location. Two spacious studios gorgeously appointed to elicit calm, focus, and pure positive energy into your practice. There are currently have 24 classes for all levels at convenient times throughout the week and feature hot flow, flow, Hatha, power, prenatal, kids and teen yoga (coming soon), Qigong, and more.
LIKE The Still Point Yoga on Facebook for deals and information
The Still Point Mind + Spirit Center
7009 Caroll Avenue, Lower Level
Takoma Park, MD 20912
301 270 2801, and you can book appointments online
Located in the original location at 7009 Carroll Ave, The Still Point’s Mind + Spirit Center is a thoughtful mix of services including Psychotherapy, Life Coaching, Hypnotherapy, and Guided Imagery (with new modalities being added all the time).
